A Case of the Spots
by night lupine
Summary: Bella gets the measles! Luckily, she has her perfect vampire boyfriend to care for her. In other words, useless fluff :D. Rated K.


**A Case of the Spots, by Night Lupine**

**Technically, this story began for a challenge by Musically Inclined. I forgot to enter it. ...What? I've always had problems with deadlines. But here it is anyway! Hope you enjoy it. And of course, we must pay homage to the Great One, O Wondrous Creator of Universes, that crazy gal, Stephenie Meyer. Thanks for.. well, you know. Writing the series and stuff. This one's for you! **

BPOV

It was about afternoon, the unusually bright sun beaming down on my angel and I. We lay in the grass of our meadow, amidst the wildflowers and the pure sunlight. The golden rays bounced off his multi-faceted skin, causing him to sparkle – one of my favorite things to see. Just Edward, natural, not having to be under the cover of the heavy clouds that normally cover the entire sky over tiny Forks, Washington. The beautiful scene was made even brighter by my love, whose mood had remained elated since I had woken up. I was so content, just lying with one arm draped across his chest, the other tracing patterns on his lovely skin; all the tension I had felt in the past couple of weeks just seemed to melt away into the ground. Edward sighed, and opened his mouth to speak. "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP." Darn you, alarm clock. Darn you to heck!

"Nooooo..." I groaned aloud, half-conscious and half-dreaming. "Edward, come back!" But it was too late; the meadow and my glittering angel – it was all gone, lost with the dream.

"I'm right here, love. Shh, don't worry. Just go back to sleep." Mmmm... sleep... no, no. I need to get up, I told myself.

Slowly and wearily I brought myself to a sleeping position, feeling disoriented. "Backt'sleepuhh?" I mumbled. "Wh-what about school?" My hand reached up to scratch my oddly itchy nose – and that's when I saw them.

"What the-CHOO!" My curse was interrupted by an earth-shattering sneeze, blowing my head back with so much force that my head knocked against the wall, hard. I groaned, and my upper body fell weakly sideways onto the bed. I suddenly realized that I felt miserable. What in Carlisle's name had happened?

"Darling... I don't think you're going to school today," he said with a grimace. "Here, have some chamomile tea. And eat your mushrooms! The immune-stimulating properties will make you all better in no time." I then noticed the array of food on a tray that sat on my bedside table. Mushrooms and tea? What kind of breakfast is that? Ah, well. I ate them anyway, along with some toast; my stomach couldn't manage much more.

"Edward," I whined. "What's wrong with me?" The 'me' turned into a drawn-out wail. "My throat, so sore. Ow. And – and spots – I see them! All over. Don't look at me, I'm a monster." Hiding as much of me as I could beneath the quilt, I rolled over and shied away when Edward tried to rub my back.

"Honestly, Bella. It's just the measles. That doesn't make you a – monster." I could almost hear the unspoken thought in his head: _"Like me."_ I quickly threw down the quilt and sat up to face him, but got a little dizzy in the process.

"Oh, Edward, please don't think like that. You're not a monster, and you and I both know that you have a soul AND a one-hundred-per-cent chance at Heaven." He seemed surprised at my words, but took me in his arms wordlessly. I snuggled deeper into him as he gently stroked my hair. With a start I realized my head must look like a giant poof ball from rolling around all night. I attempted to pull away, making vague hand motions to communicate washing myself. "Edward... I need to shower. I probably look disgusting."

"Oh, nonsense. You'll always be the most beautiful angel this world has ever seen," and he slightly tightened its hold on me. Liar! Fiend! I knew that he knew that I looked like something out of a horror film. Jerking away from him, I pointed and yelled feebly, "Look, over there! A, ah.. Gladys Night and the Pips!" Unfortunately, my clever distraction failed; Edward simply looked at me curiously. Regardless, I jumped up and ran – well, hobbled – to the bathroom, and locked the door. I could hear his musical chuckle, even though he was still in my room; I sighed, and took my shower.

After about five minutes of trying to let my aching muscles relax, the steam began to make me feel light-headed. I figured it would pass, and went on scrubbing my hair with my strawberry-scented shampoo. Another few minutes and I was beginning to see stars – uh-oh. Here comes another Crazy Bella Moment... and everything went black.

EPOV

_Oh, how I love that girl. My sweet, innocent Bella. So fragile, and at the same time so strong. I'm so glad that I can be there to protect her, though I know that most of the time she didn't even need_ – THUMP. Broken from the usual dreamy state I entered whenever I thought about her, my head snapped up to locate the source of the noise. _What was that? A shampoo bottle falling down? I hope she didn't hit something too hard._ I went and knocked on the door. "Bella?" I called, hopefully loudly enough for her human ears to hear above the sound of the shower. No answer. I knocked again, frantically this time, hoping she simply hadn't heard. "Bella?!" Still no answer. Something was wrong. I easily broke down the door, running to my sweet angel, who was lying face-down in the tub, the hot water still pouring down. I quickly pulled her head up out of the water that had collected there, using one hand to switch the water to cold in an attempt to wake her. I slapped her face a few times, extremely careful to not hurt her with my super-strength: a hair harder and her neck would surely snap. "Bella!" I yelled, dry sobs wracking my body. "Angel, please wake up!" It was then that I heard the most precious sound in the world: a cough. Water came out of her mouth, and I knew she would be okay. I could have shouted with happiness, but I refrained from doing so for fear of shocking her. Using my super-speed, I turned off the freezing water and wrapped her in a towel, taking her in my arms bridal-style and carrying her back to the bedroom.

"Edward," she whispered. Were I still alive, my heart would have stopped at the sound of her beautiful voice.

"Yes, my love?"

"You didn't – did you – see me – you know?" I chuckled. My Bella was back.

"You nearly drowned in the shower, and you're worried if I saw you without your clothes on?" There was no reply. "I did my best not to disrespect your privacy. Though I admit, it was much more difficult than I had anticipated." Her heart-rate quickened, the blood pooling in her cheeks. Ah, sweet rapture. I was amazed by everything she did – even her body's natural response. I looked at her, cradled in my arms, clad only in a towel. She was so beautiful. Even with her hair wet, and her body covered in itchy red splotches.

"Mmmmkay," was all she said. I lay her down on the bed, moving to the dresser to grab a sleeping shirt and a pair of shorts. I helped her get dressed, careful to maneuver the towel so that it did not reveal anything. After that, I pulled myself away from her for a few seconds to grab the calamine lotion from the medicine cabinet in her bathroom. As soon as I was back I immediately began dabbing the lotion on the red splotches that covered her skin, again careful not to infringe on any of her personal areas. I did, however, take the liberty of lifting up her shirt to reveal her back so I could cover the spots there as well. After I turned her back over, staring at her face, I was so tempted to simply ravage her with kisses; but I knew that in her vulnerable state it would be entirely disrespectful. A_h, well. There will be plenty of time for _that_ later_, I thought ecstatically. _A whole eternity, perhaps._ I admonished this voice in my head, telling it to quiet down. _I just can't do that to my poor Angel, I can't make her lose her soul. _The other voice argued back though._ Oh, but you so desire it... You can't live without her, you must recognize that at least. What are you going to do, wait until she's old and dying, and then realize __your mistake? _That was enough. I focused on tucking Bella beneath the covers.

"Immago... sleephnow," she mumbled, half-conscious and half already asleep. I chuckled, kissing her forehead gently, then each of her closed eyelids, her nose, both of her warm rosy cheeks, and finally her lips. "Edward..." she sighed, though I couldn't tell if she was asleep or awake. A few moments later... "What are all those spotted elephants doing in the castle, Professor Dumbledore?" _Definitely asleep,_ I thought, laughing inwardly. Being careful not to wake her, I gently lay myself down on the bed next to her, wrapping her in my arms.

"It's because they have measles, obviously," I whispered into her ear. "They caught it from the Blast-Ended Skrewts."

"Oh, of course, Professor. What a silly question." The corners of her luscious lips turned up in a sub-conscious smile, mirroring my own wide grin. _My Bella. _

**A/N: I can haz revyooz now?**


End file.
